August 4th, 2026
Tuesday, first preview, Pleasance Jack, half full, industry crowd — Yara in the third row with her friend Dee, and in the front row James Holborn, the comic whose Soho Theatre hour last year Ollie walked out of jealous.
What happened
Tuesday, first preview, Pleasance Jack, half full, industry crowd — Yara in the third row with her friend Dee, and in the front row James Holborn, the comic whose Soho Theatre hour last year Ollie walked out of jealous. The Leeds middle lands but the car park line trips out of him slightly off-rhythm, and Holborn's face does the small smile Ollie reads as pity. His mouth goes dry for the closing, and he has to sip water mid-punchline — a humiliation small enough the room forgives but he does not. Warm win: Debs Adeyemi catches him in the corridor after and says only, "the middle's there." Decision: he will do the line again tomorrow and not smile through it.